1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a video camera having a viewfinder and more particularly to a video camera having a viewfinder which is arranged to be turnable relative to the camera body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The known cameras of the above-stated kind are as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
In the case of the camera shown in FIG. 1, a grip part 5 which is provided for holding the camera body 1 is secured to the camera body 1. A viewfinder 3 which is provided for confirmation of a photo-taken object in shooting is arranged to be turnable in the directions of the arrows for adjustment of its inclination.
In the case shown in FIG. 2, the viewfinder 3 is turnably mounted on an upper part of the camera body 1. The grip part 5 is turnably mounted on a lower part of the camera body 1. They are thus respectively arranged to have their inclinations adjustable.
In the case of FIG. 3, the grip part 5 and the viewfinder 3 are unified in one body and are arranged to be turnable together relative to the camera body 1 by means of a turning mechanism provided on the grip part 5. The details of this arrangement have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,987.
With the camera arranged as shown in FIG. 1, the display of the viewfinder 3 can be easily confirmed by turning the viewfinder 3. However, in shooting at a low angle, the grip part 5 is not easily holdable in a normal state as the grip part 5 is secured to the camera body 1. This necessitates either readjustment of a hold taken on the camera in that instance or the provision of a trigger switch solely for low-angle shooting. Further, under such a condition, the camera might be dropped from the hand. Further, in the case of high-angle shooting, the display of the viewfinder 3 is not readily confirmable because of the lack of arrangement for the angle of elevation.
The camera of FIG. 2 permits not only inclination adjustment of the viewfinder 3 but also that of the grip part 5 by virtue of a turning mechanism. The camera thus permits adequate shooting at a normal shooting angle or at any angle close thereto. However, the shootable angle is limited. Therefore, the camera is not easily operatable, because it allows an insufficient amount of latitude for a wider range of shooting angles. Another disadvantage of the camera of this type resides in its inferiority in respect of portability as the arrangement inevitably increases the size of the camera.
The video camera of FIG. 3 permits ease of shooting at high and low angles. In addition to that, the arrangement to unify the grip part 5 with the viewfinder 3 is applicable to cameras of relatively small sizes. However, in order to make the whole unit of the viewfinder turnable including the grip part, the turning part of the unit must be arranged to have a high degree of strength. Besides, in designing the mechanism of this part, the arrangement has hindered efforts to further reduce the size of the camera through more efficient space utilization.